Intel DZ77GA-70K Motherboard Review

Last month, we took both MSI's Z77A-GD55 and ASUS' P8Z77-V DELUXE for a spin, and for their respective pros vs. cons, we awarded both with an Editor's Choice. Will Intel's DZ77GA-70K earn the same respect? Our review would be pointless if we didn't draw up some conclusions, so let's hop to it.

For what I'm sure are obvious reasons by now, Intel's name isn't usually the first to come to an enthusiast's mind when choosing a motherboard. Despite offering drool-worthy processors, Intel simply hasn't delivered the motherboards that enthusiasts are dying to own.

If you've ever done your own comparisons, the reasons aren't exactly subtle. Intel has famously been slow to adopt bleeding-edge technologies - ironically, sometimes even its own - and with everything from the board design to what comes in the box, it's been very difficult for Intel to compete with the likes of ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI and others. Then there's the overclocking aspect, which at one point was the truest exercise of patience I've ever experienced.

You might recall, however, an editorial we posted last year entitled "The State of Overclocking on Intel Motherboards". In it, we discussed some of the major strides Intel has made with regards to OCing on its motherboards, and in the same article, we talked about other ways the company was planning on improving things going forward. After that article was published, multiple Intel boards have passed through our lab, but it's with the one we're about to look at that really proves Intel's desire to break further into the enthusiast space.